MarionMae DiedrichHill

Arden - Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Marion Mae Diedrich Hill, passed away peacefully in Arden, North Carolina on November 23, 2018. Throughout her life, Marion's sweet, passionate, silly, intelligent, spirited and loving nature shone brightly, like a full moon in the night sky…like a song beautifully-sung, distant snow on the mountains, autumn leaves in the afternoon sun, birdsong through the morning mist. Marion was born on May 19, 1928 to Arthur and Leone (nee Korb) Diedrich in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After attending public schools in Milwaukee, Marion moved to Madison, Wisconsin at age 17 to attend the University of Wisconsin, majoring in criminology. As she was working as a cashier in her college dorm, she met a young Navy veteran who, after returning from service in WWII, was working in the dorm kitchen. The night they met, Marion told her mother she had just met the man she was going to marry. And so began a journey that lasted nearly 70 years. On the day after she graduated from college, Marion married Harry Victor Hill in Madison, Wisconsin on June 18, 1949. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Fennimore, Wisconsin where Harry set up a law practice and where their three daughters were born. After five years in Fennimore, the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin. Over the next thirty years, Marion raised her family, was active in school life, worked as a librarian, went on wonderful family camping trips in the mountains out west, sang many songs, had many lovely walks in the Wisconsin woods, calmly endured the tumult of raising three teenage daughters, tended her beautiful prairie garden, became an avid and graceful figure skater, and developed a keen interest in birds and nature. In 1975, Marion began volunteering at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin and soon took a full-time job there as a wilderness educator. This work took her across the state, around the country and across the world as she led two Crane Foundation trips to Africa. In her later years, Marion moved to the Trinity View Retirement Community in Asheville, North Carolina, where she grew to love the Appalachian Mountains, her many friends at Trinity View, picnics and rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Marion was pre-deceased by her parents, Arthur and Leone Diedrich, and her sister, Shirley Diedrich Wilcox. She is survived by her husband Harry, daughter Heidi Hill Sherman (M: John Sherman) of Asheville NC, daughter Harriet Hill of Eureka, CA, daughter Hannah Hill Rudstam (M: Lars G. Rudstam) of Ithaca, NY, granddaughter Briana Bridges Jacobs (M: Levi Jacobs), grandsons Drew Bridges (M: Irina Mikheyeva), Lars V. Rudstam (M: Kim Sanders Rudstam), Pelle Rudstam (M: Carrie Cooper Rudstam) and great-grandson Cormac Jacobs. In lieu of flowers, Marion's family requests that donations be made in her name to the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org), the Audubon Society (www.audubon.org) or the International Crane Foundation (www.savingcranes.org). Marion's family wishes to give our heartfelt thanks to the staff of the Trinity View Retirement Community in Arden, North Carolina whose gracious and loving care enabled Marion to live a joyful life during her final years and to the staff of the Universal Health Center whose attentiveness gave Marion comfort during her final days. Also, we wish to thank the Four Seasons Hospice staff who eased her passing.

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